Blackburn manager Gary Bowyer is a man under pressure, as he aims to take this team on a consistent run of form in order to achieve promotion back to the Premier League. Blackburn have been coming over close enough to the play-offs to challenge for a return. This season is extremely important for the former Premier League champions given that the parachute payment is set to run out soon. This would put them at a disadvantage compared to the newly relegated teams. Ahead of the match with Derby on Wednesday night, Bowyer says that the extra rest that his team gets because of the fixture list may prove crucial.

One fiercely contested fixtures during the course of a season, Bowyer says that it is always an advantage to have extra rest ahead of such a match. Derby could only manage 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest in the latest league match on Sunday, but Blackburn had 24 hours extra rest since their game against Wigan was on Saturday. A 3-1 win with the likes of Ben Marshall and Jordan Rhodes on the scoresheet provides a lot of positivity to Bowyer’s team ahead of the encounter. Consistency has been a problem for Blackburn this season, but they go in search of the second consecutive win.

“It definitely makes a difference that you get 24 hours more rest after the two games that the teams played. You watched the Forest game on the Sunday and it was a typical east Midlands derby. It was fierce, had high energy and emotionally as well they are tough games. To have 24 hours of extra rest could prove vital for us. The fact we’ve had 24 hours of extra rest will only come to our advantage if we go out and perform. That’s the main thing – we’ve got to go out and perform and build on Saturday’s performance,” said Bowyer.